Attention

Monday, March 14, 2016

Six organizations that work with Somali youth in Minnesota have been awarded $300,000 in grants as part of a federal pilot project designed to combat terrorism, the nonprofit group that is administering the funds announced Thursday.

The grant recipients include a youth sports group, a program that empowers Somali parents, an organization that plans to enhance youth employment opportunities and a group that addresses mental health issues for refugees. An additional $100,000 has been set aside to help with technical assistance, professional development and other resources with the goal of keeping the programs going on their own in the future.

Marcus Pope, director of partnerships and external relations for Youthprise, the nonprofit administering the money, said investing in youth development is crucial. He said Minnesota is home to many creative and bright Somali youth, but many of them face “formidable challenges, including a sense of alienation, a search for identity as new immigrants, unemployment and poverty that can open them to recruitment by extremist groups.”More here

(CNSNews.com) – A little over two years after Obama campaign bundler and LGBT advocate James “Wally” Brewster arrived in the Dominican Republic, accompanied by his spouse, Bob Satawake, to assume his duties as U.S. ambassador, calls are growing in the conservative country for his recall.

Church leaders, politicians and education officials in the Caribbean island nation are clamoring for his removal, and a petition was lodged with the White House this week accusing him of promoting an “LGBT agenda inconsistent with the Christian cultural values and tradition of the Dominican Republic.”

Brewster was not the first openly gay man appointed as a U.S. ambassador – President Obama nominated no fewer than five in 2013 alone. But while others were accredited to Western countries with liberal views on homosexuality he was named envoy to a developing nation, 95 percent of whose 10 million people are Roman Catholic.

Moveon.Org is conducting fundraising activities from the Chicago protests against Donald Trump that prompted the Republican presidential front-runner to cancel a rally there Friday, and promises that more disruptions are on the way.

“Last night, without consulting local police, Donald Trump abruptly cancelled a rally in Chicago in the face of massive and overwhelmingly peaceful student-led protests,” MoveOn.org wrote in an email Saturday to members. “We’re being flooded with aggressive emails and social media posts from Trump supporters. Some of them are threatening. We refuse to be intimidated by Donald Trump, Fox News, or anyone else.”

The email asked members to donate $3 to help the effort. The progressive group is funded by billionaire George Soros, and has endorsed Democratic candidate Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders for president.

“We need to double down on our work, showing that America is better than Trump’s bullying, hate-baiting, and incitements to violence,” the email read. “We are committed to nonviolence, but we will not be silent. We will not be invisible.”

The group detailed its efforts in recent months, highlighting ads it has run against the real estate mogul and the advocacy its done on behalf of refugees, who it said are “under attack” from the GOP, and the support it gave to Trump protesters in Chicago.

WASHINGTON – A letter from a U.S. Capitol Police officer contains a series of bombshell revelations in the case of Miriam Carey, the unarmed, black, single mother who, with her one-year-old daughter in tow, was chased and gunned down by federal agents in the heart of the nation’s capital, after apparently doing nothing more than making a wrong turn at the White House.

The letter reveals:Capitol Police officers believe Carey was murdered.Officers on the scene were made to change their statements.Officers had never seen an investigation handled in that fashion.Officers expected the government to stonewall inquiries into the case.

The Capitol Police chief and assistant chief were so uncomfortable with the case that the former considered resigning and the latter actually did.

The letter was sent anonymously in a U.S. Capitol Police envelope to Carey family attorney Eric Sanders, who then provided it to WND. The attorney, a former New York Police Department officer himself, said the author of the letter is definitely a Capitol Police officer speaking on behalf of other such officers who “know inside details only an employee would know.”

Donald Trump refused to back down from his claim that ‘Islam hates us’ during tonight’s debate.

There is a ‘serious, serious problem of hate,’ Trump said during a GOP debate tonight in Miami, Florida.

He added: ‘There is tremendous hate, there is tremendous hate.’

Trump originally made the assertion yesterday during an CNN interview.

While not going as far as to say all 1.6 billion Muslims despise America, the Republican presidential candidate did not separate radical Islamic terrorism and the Islam as a faith.

Asked if he thought that the anger was coming from the religion itself, Trump, 69, threw the question back at interviewer Anderson Cooper and said that was for the media to work out themselves.

‘You’re gonna have to figure that out, OK?’; said Trump to Cooper. ‘We have to be very vigilant. We have to be very careful. And we can’t allow people coming into this country who have this hatred of the United States.’

WATCH: A bold and true message to President Obama from our friend, Retired Lt. Randy Sutton. Thank you Lieutenant Sutton, thank you for having the fortitude to say what needs to be said.RandyLSutton.com

Former Sen. Al D'Amato, R-N.Y., says any effort to take away a nomination from Donald Trump at the Republican convention in Cleveland this summer is likely to cause a "revolution" in the party.

Speaking Sunday to John Catsimatidis on his popular talk show, D'Amato blasted Mitt Romney for his recent anti-Trump speech, saying that the 2012 GOP presidential nominee shouldn't mobilize against the real estate mogul.

"You've got people like that trying to stop Trump, and I think they should be ashamed of themselves," D'Amato said. "If they want to be for a candidate, be for a candidate, come out for the candidate, campaign for the candidate. But don't just go on with this business, 'We want a stalemated convention so that the power brokers – whoever's left of them – can decide.'"

A grand alliance of the media, left-wing activists, celebrities and the Republican establishment are blaming Donald Trump for the disruptions that are intended to shut down his events, so here’s a healthy dose of reality.

Highly organized, well-funded leftist activists have had it out in a big way for Trump since day one.

What was originally scheduled as a speaking appearance to local Republicans in Phoenix, Arizona last June ballooned almost overnight into a large-scale event.

As spokeswoman Hope Hicks said at the time:

"Due to the overwhelming response … the venue has been changed to accommodate the thousands of people expected to attend and the event will now take place at the Phoenix Convention Center."

Aside from the line of people that stretched around the block, there was another significant contingent at the Phoenix Convention Center rally: the organized, institutional left, including groups connected with Black Lives Matter.

This wasn’t a couple of stray protesters: as this video shot by Breitbart News at the time shows, it was hundreds of loud, community-organized activists intent on disruption.

The main group organizing the protest was the Puente Human Rights Movement, an Arizona group which has spent years protesting Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

Joining Puente in the Arizona anti-Trump protests were representatives from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, aka MALDEF, in addition to groups La Raza and LULAC.

Black Lives Matter cofounder Opal Tometi is a board member of Puente. Tometi is also the executive director of a group called Black Alliance for Just Immigration.

John Kasich's entire strategy is to convince the Republican base that moderation is a virtue. The Ohio Governor has questioned the Christianity of those who criticized his Obamacare Medicaid expansion. This hasn't seemed to hurt him in his home state of Ohio.

But there are some issues that are sacrosanct on the right. One of them is gun control. Here, Kasich has tried to tell voters he's a fan of the Second Amendment. Kasich's website has a "Defending the Second Amendment" section outlining his support for the right to bear arms. But as conservative pundit Tim Young points out, there's a piece of Kasich's record that seems to be missing:

A devastating report released by the Knights of Columbus deatils the extent of ISIS crimes. Their conclusion? ISIS is engaged in a genocide against the region's ancient Christian minorities. As Lifezette notes:

One week before the State Department must announce if Islamic State atrocities against religious minorities in Iraq and Syria are genocide, a 278-page report has been released documenting that Christians there do face genocide.

“We now stand on the cusp of another historic decision,” stated Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, who released the report along with the advocacy group In Defense of Christians, at the National Press Club on Thursday.

The organization, along with others, paints a horrific picture. As noted:

The report lists many acts of violence, displacement, theft, hostage-taking, and sexual slavery, but new reports are surfacing daily, Anderson said" "As comprehensive as this report is, we believe that it may only be the tip of the iceberg."

For instance, according to credible reports in the last two days, Anderson said the number of Christian women enslaved by the Islamic State in Iraq’s Nineveh province is seven times the previous estimate.

"Over and over again, we have found that as bad as we know things are and have been, the facts are worse, and the atrocities are more numerous," he added.

The report is the result of a fact-finding mission to Iraq and contains a legal brief sent to Kerry as well as extensive documentation and testimonies of victims of Islamic State militants. It contains new stories "the world has not heard," In Defense of Christians president Toufic Baaklini stated.

We're skeptical, but we hope John Kerry and President Obama do the right thing for a change. The world's most persecuted minorities lives are at stake.

This week, ranchers from Arizona and New Mexico got together to discuss America's border crisis, and how the federal government has abandoned them. As the Albequerqe Journal notes:

Several hundred ranchers gathered at a small-town high school in the Bootheel on Thursday to rally against what they described as a broken border.

Also present were members and representatives of New Mexico’s congressional delegation and officials from public security agencies, including the Border Patrol, Army, National Guard and sheriffs. More than 600 people showed up at a school auditorium in Animas, population 237.

Ranchers here have been steaming over the reported kidnapping of a ranch hand in December, when drug runners allegedly hijacked the man’s vehicle, loaded it with narcotics and drove him to Arizona. He came home “roughed up,” his employer Tricia Elbrock said, but he survived the ordeal.

Concerns about border security have simmered for years for those who live among the region’s sprawling ranches and rugged mountain ranges. Sometimes, fears boil over, such as after the unsolved 2010 murder of southern Arizona rancher Robert Krentz, who was found shot dead on his property, or after the recent reported kidnapping.

“How many here think your border is secure?” Elbrock asked to laughs. “I say to all our representatives, come down here. Stay with us. Work with us.”

Someone in the crowd shouted, “Walk the border!”

“And see what it’s like,” Elbrock said. “It’s not safe. We got problems here. They don’t want it known. They don’t want people to know.”

Democrats and elitists in the GOP can go on and on about the plight of illegal immigrants, but at the end of the day, ordinary Americans are suffering. It's time the federal government take seriously its responsibility to protect our border from those who would do us harm.

Salisbury, MD… Wicomico County Executive Bob Culver has announced that on March 22, 2016, the County will host a public forum on the expansion of the size and number of poultry houses within the County. The event will take place from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Midway Room of the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center. Members of the community are encouraged to attend.

“The poultry industry has been a vital part of our economy for decades. With the development of larger poultry houses and the denser clustering of them, many residents of the County have expressed concerns ranging from proximity to developments to environmental impact,” said Culver. “In order to address these concerns in the most factual manner possible, we’ve invited a panel of experts to address these issues and answer questions from the public.”

Panel members will include: a representative for the Maryland Secretary of Agriculture; Hilary D. Miller, Director, Land Management Administration and Gary Kelman, Chief Animal Feeding Operation Program Manager, both representing the Maryland Department of the Environment; and Clifford S. Mitchell, MS, MD, MPH, Director of Environmental Health Bureau, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Participants will also include the County Executive and County Council. For more information, contact the Executive’s Office at 410-548-4801.

Salisbury, MD – Whether it’s taste-testing wings, rising up in a hot air balloon or bouncing around on inflatables, the whole family is bound to have a blast at this spring’s Pork in the Park festival.

This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, April 23 and Sunday, April 24 at WinterPlace Park, located at 6737 Blue Ribbon Road in Salisbury. The festival hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.

Admission is $3 at the gate for adults and free for children 12 and younger. Some activities have an additional cost.

New this year is Balloonville where festival-goers can check out the inside of a hot air balloon, take a tethered balloon ride or sign up for a passenger flight. A balloon glow on Saturday evening will showcase hot air balloons illuminated from within against the night sky.

Also new is the Eastern Shore Pork War, in which guests vote on their favorite pulled pork, with beer pairings for those 21 and older.

The Deli will be back to defend its title at the Eastern Shore Wing War people’s choice wing competition, taking on several other area restaurants.

Rommel’s Ace Inflatable Park returns this year offering over a dozen bounce houses, slides and obstacles to children ages 14 and younger. The festival also hosts a Kids Zone, with free face painting and balloon animals on Saturday and several pet-friendly activities on Sunday.

As always, the festival offers a plethora of delicious food, cold beverages and live entertainment throughout the weekend.

Proceeds from the festival benefit the Friends of Recreation & Parks Tomorrow Fund. This fund provides scholarships to youth participating in County child care programs and youth sports programs.

ANIMAS — Several hundred ranchers gathered at a small-town high school in the Bootheel on Thursday to rally against what they described as a broken border.

Also present were members and representatives of New Mexico’s congressional delegation and officials from public security agencies, including the Border Patrol, Army, National Guard and sheriffs. More than 600 people showed up at a school auditorium in Animas, population 237.

Ranchers here have been steaming over the reported kidnapping of a ranch hand in December, when drug runners allegedly hijacked the man’s vehicle, loaded it with narcotics and drove him to Arizona. He came home “roughed up,” his employer Tricia Elbrock said, but he survived the ordeal.

Concerns about border security have simmered for years for those who live among the region’s sprawling ranches and rugged mountain ranges. Sometimes, fears boil over, such as after the unsolved 2010 murder of southern Arizona rancher Robert Krentz, who was found shot dead on his property, or after the recent reported kidnapping.

On December 27, 1985, gunfire and explosions erupted at the El Al ticket counter inside the Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport in Rome. Four gunmen from the Palestinian terrorist group Abu Nidal entered the terminal at 9:10 am and opened fire. By 9:11 a.m. three of them were dead and one survivor was in custody.

This was thanks to a single Israeli agent named Moshe.

The carnage wrought by the Islamic radicals was mercifully cut short by the agent’s quick action and sophisticated training—exactly the same training that the Israeli Tactical School attempts to disseminate to the military, law enforcement, and private citizens in America.

Recently, I was able to receive a portion of the group’s training. After 17 hours of the most intense shooting drills of my life, I have a new appreciation for the tactics and, more importantly, the mentality employed by Israelis to combat the ever-present threat of terrorism.

Aggression is the key. Take the initiative. Surprise the attacker while you have the upper hand. Once you hear those gunshots you sprint to the scene, ready to do anything it takes to stop the attacker. You must be able to flip the switch in your mind and go from zero to 100 in an instant. When responding to an active shooter situation, whether as a concealed carrier or a law enforcement officer, you don’t need to rely on a checklist or follow a progression of force to decide how to respond. When somebody is using deadly force against innocent people, you can and must counter with whatever force is necessary to stop them as quickly as possible.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and other Muslim leaders are demanding that GOP frontrunner Donald Trump issue an apology for saying “I think Islam hates us.”

CAIR has been declared a terrorist organization by the United Arab Emirates and was named by federal prosecutors as an unindicted co-conspirator in a Hamas-funding operation.

CAIR official Nihad Awad said there are “extremist elites” who say statements that are “bigoted like Donald Trump.” He added, “They may assume the highest office of the land,” saying that’s “dangerous.”

CAIR’s press release also argues the “Islamophobic rhetoric” from Trump and other Republican officials “is to blame at least in part for the recent unprecedented spike in anti-Muslim hate incidents nationwide.”

One North Carolina mother was so impressed when a Chick-fil-A employee used sign language to communicate with her hearing-impaired daughter that she shared a video of the encounter on Facebook that has since gone viral across social media platforms.

In a Facebook post on the Love What Matters page, Terri Buelman said that she and her 20-year-old daughter, Cynthia Walker, decided to order a meal at a Chick-fil-A restaurant last week after hearing that an employee knew and used sign language there. When the two women approached the counter to order their meals from cashier Taylor Anez, Buelman said that they were overjoyed to discover that Anez knew sign language. Although Cynthia hesitated at first, she began to sign her order and was surprised when Anez signed back.

For Texas Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign, it was nothing short of a roundhouse kick: the announcement that, after an apparent endorsement, martial arts superstar and conservative icon Chuck Norris would no longer be appearing with Cruz throughout the campaign.

Norris had been scheduled to appear with the Texas senator, radio host Glenn Beck and Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin at an event dubbed an “American rally” this Sunday in Concord, North Carolina. According to a political action committee associated with Cruz, however, Norris will no longer be appearing.

“Late Wednesday evening, we learned that Chuck Norris will not be attending the rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has not officially endorsed any candidate for president,” Kristina Hernandez, a spokeswoman for Keep the Promise PAC said Thursday, according to TheBlaze.

Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has made a name for himself, politically, by “telling it like it is” — something that has attracted supporters from all across the nation who are tired of a politically correct government.

One of Trump’s key policies has been to reel in illegal immigration — specifically from Mexico — by building an enormous wall across the border, as well as rounding up the roughly 12 million illegals who currently live in this country and sending them back to their home countries.

While many Hispanics have embraced Trump’s plan because they want to protect America, too, others of the same ethnicity have not been too pleased with the businessman’s proposals.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed on two occasions last year to detain and deport a 46-year-old illegal alien who is accused of slaughtering five strangers with an AK-47 in Kansas and Missouri earlier this week.

It was reported early Wednesday that the suspect in the killings, Pablo Serrano-Vitorino, slipped through ICE hands following a traffic arrest in September in Overland Park, Kan. ICE erroneously filed a request to detain the Mexican national — who had been deported in 2004 — with the Johnson Co., Kan. sheriff’s office. But that agency never had Serrano-Vitorino in its custody so he went free.

Egregious enough, it has since come to light that ICE was notified in June that Serrano-Vitorino had been arrested in Wyandotte, Co. for domestic battery.

An ICE spokeswoman said Wednesday that the agency “regrets the error,” which allowed Serrano-Vitorino to remain in the Kansas City area, where is accused of using an AK-47 to murder his neighbor and three of that man’s friends on Monday. He is also suspected of killing a New Florence, Mo. man in his home on Tuesday.

The bill requires 75% of the items in vending machines on property owned or managed by the state to meet healthy standards.

Under the measure, “any packaged food and beverage option offered in a food or beverage machine shall contain no more than:

- .5 grams of trans fat per serving

- 200 milligrams of sodium per package.”

The legislation not only mandates the carrying of healthy snack choices, but also mandates the stocking of the vending machine in a manner where healthy options are “in a position with the highest selling potential.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s former adviser who was found dead in a Washington, D.C. hotel last November, died of blunt force trauma to the head, according to autopsy results from the D.C. Medical Examiner’s Office Thursday.

Authorities in D.C. found the body of Mikhail Lesin, 59, on November 5 in a room at the Dupont Circle Hotel. Lesin’s family members initially told Russian media outlets he suffered from many health conditions and likely had a heart attack. But the new autopsy results are fueling speculations of foul play over the mysterious death. Authorities aren’t releasing further details because the investigation is ongoing, reports WUSA9.

The autopsy also revealed blunt force injuries to Lesin’s neck, torso, arms and legs, in addition to trauma to his head. Dustin Sternbeck, chief spokesman for the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), said Thursday authorities could not yet conclude whether his death was the result of a crime.

“We’re not willing to close off anything at this point,” said Sternbeck.

Last week, we reported that Bryan Pagliano, the State Department staffer who set up Hillary Clinton's private server, was given immunity in exchange for his testimony. Mr. Pagliano had previously invoked his 5th Amendment rights. The deal provided investigators with an opportunity to really get to the bottom of Emailgate, and it appears that so far, the testimony is paying off. As the Free Beacon notes:

Fox News, citing an intelligence source, reported that Pagliano, who set Clinton’s server up in her New York home in 2009, has also told FBI investigators when these individuals had access to the former secretary of state’s system and what devices they used. The former staffer also offered details that allowed investigators to connect emails with other evidence, which could help them determine possible gaps in Clinton’s email record.

“Bryan Pagliano is a devastating witness and, as the webmaster, knows exactly who had access to [Clinton’s] computer and devices at specific times. His importance to this case cannot be over-emphasized,” the source was quoted as saying.

The latest revelations come about a week after it was reported that Pagliano received immunity from the Justice Department and was cooperating with the FBI, months after he pled the Fifth Amendment to avoid testifying before congressional lawmakers on Clinton’s server setup. Pagliano worked on Clinton’s failed 2008 presidential campaign and went on to work in the State Department’s IT department during her tenure as secretary of state.

Clinton’s presidential campaign has described the news about Pagliano as a positive development.

We've said it before and we'll say it again: Democratic voters better be feeling the Bern, because their frontrunner might be headed to the Big House before she ever gets a shot at the White House.

On March 13, 2016 at approximately 0022 hours, Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Deputies responded the Pocomoke Elks Lodge, Pocomoke, Maryland for a fight in progress. Dispatch advised approximately 30-40 people were fighting and throwing bottles. The incident continued to escalate and agencies from in and out of the county were called to assist.

As control of the scene was gained, several people refused to leave the area. After being instructed by the deputies to leave the property multiple times, those that refused to comply were placed under arrest. The following subjects were arrested and charged:

Shawn Patrick Ennis, 40 years old of Pocomoke City, MD – Trespassing

Sherry Lynn Mullican, 33 years old of Westover, MD – Trespassing

Stephanie Sue Mullican, 28 years old of Salisbury, MD – Disorderly Conduct and Fail to Obey Lawful Order of Peace Officer

All three subjects were charged and released pending trial.

On 03/13/2016 at approximately 1512 hours, a Worcester County Sheriff's Office Deputy stopped a vehicle in Berlin, Maryland for an equipment violation. The Deputy identified a passenger of the vehicle as Cody Taylor Branden, 29, of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. A search of the vehicle led to the seizure of approximately 52 grams of marijuana and a fixed blade knife. Mr. Branden was later charged with possession of marijuana in the amount of more than 10 grams and carrying a concealed dangerous weapon. Mr. Branden was released pending trial.

On March 13, 2016 at approximately 0157 hours a Worcester County Sheriff's Deputy initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle that had been traveling westbound on Route 50 over the Harry Kelly Bridge for speeding 52 MPH in a 35 MPH zone. The Deputy identified the driver as James Stephen Jackson 50 years old of Dover, Delaware. The Deputy smelled the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Mr. Jackson's vehicle and breath. Mr. Jackson admitted to drinking alcohol and did poorly on field sobriety tests. Mr. Jackson was placed under arrest and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. and released pending trial.

Chris Kyle is considered the most lethal U.S. Navy Seal sniper, with over 160 confirmed kills by the Department of Defense. He was a true American patriot, serving four tours in Iraq, and being awarded many commendations for his valiant service throughout his career. Unfortunately, Kyle was murdered at a shooting range in Texas in 2013 by a former Marine. Our Commander in Chief, President Barack Obama, was not present at Kyle's funeral, and did not even order the American flag to be flown at half mast in honor of Kyle's death.

The Justice Department on Thursday filed its latest response to Apple in the fight over iPhone encryption, calling the tech giant's rhetoric in the San Bernardino, California, case "false" and "corrosive" of institutions that safeguard rights.

The debate surrounds whether Apple should comply with a court order to help authorities unlock an iPhone used by one of the shooters in last year's San Bernardino attack, which left 14 people dead.

"Here, Apple deliberately raised technological barriers that now stand between a lawful warrant and an iPhone containing evidence related to the terrorist mass murder of 14 Americans. Apple alone can remove those barriers so that the FBI can search the phone, and it can do so without undue burden," the DOJ wrote in the filing.

MCALLEN, Texas — Over a period of three days, three illegal aliens from El Salvador with criminal records as rapists are facing immigration charges after getting arrested near the Rio Grande Valley of the Texas border with Mexico.

The most recent arrest took place on Wednesday in the border city of Hidalgo when U.S. Border Patrol agents found 28-year-old Manuel Alexander Chicas Contreras. Details of how the arrest took place are not listed in the criminal complaint obtained by Breitbart Texas. Once in custody however, the agents requested a records check on Chicas and learned that he had previously been deported.

Chicas was deported on December 5, 2014 after he was released from prison for having “sexual intercourse with a child over the age of 15”. For that crime, Chicas was sentenced to 12 months in prison and had six months from his sentence suspended prior to his deportation. On Thursday, Chicas went before U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby who formally charged him with one count of illegal re-entry and ordered he be held without bond.

There is stronger evidence of a link between the herbicide Agent Orange and bladder cancer and thyroid problems among U.S. military personnel exposed to the chemical during the Vietnam War, a new Institute of Medicine report shows.

However, there is little to no evidence of an association between the birth defect spina bifida and a mother's or father's exposure to Agent Orange, according to the report.

The report committee also concluded that military personnel exposed to Agent Orange who have Parkinson's disease-like symptoms can file a claim for the condition.

Agent Orange is an herbicide sprayed during the Vietnam War to kill off trees and vegetation that the enemy used as cover. The U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides during the war.

For this report, the authors looked at studies published between Oct. 1, 2012, and Sept. 30, 2014. The report is the final in a series of biennial reviews on the health effects of Agent Orange ordered by Congress.

The stronger evidence of a connection between Agent Orange and bladder cancer and hypothyroidism (under-active thyroid) comes from a large study of U.S. veterans of the Korean War who also served in the Vietnam War.

Dinesh D'Souza's upcoming film on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be "telling you the story that they don't want you to know," the political commentator told Newsmax TV on Thursday.

D'Souza told "The Steve Malzberg Show" that the film — "Hillary's America: The Secret History Of The Democratic Party" — will be released during the Democratic National Convention in July because "there will be two narratives out in the country that week, and one of them — the true one, of course — will be ours.

"Our film is the most powerful attack, emotional and intellectual attack, on Hillary and the Democratic Party that you can ever imagine," said D'Souza, who produced "2016: Obama's America," the successful 2012 documentary that attacked President Barack Obama.

Because of Puerto Rico’s ambiguous political status vis-à-vis the United States, a federal judge in Puerto Rico ruled Tuesday that the Supreme Court’s decision to impose gay marriage doesn’t apply on the island, which is a commonwealth with a unique constitutional status.

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has its own Civil Code, which enshrines traditional man-woman marriage in the recognized definition of the institution. It states that marriage is “a civil institution, originating in a civil contract whereby a man and a woman mutually agree to become husband and wife and to discharge toward each other the duties imposed by law.”

Federal district judge Juan Perez-Gimenez based his ruling on the contention that the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to Puerto Rico, which allowed him to uphold the commonwealth’s ban on same-sex marriage.

In his ten-page opinion, Perez-Gimenez said that the Supreme Court’s decision last June in Obergefell v. Hodges was based on that amendment alone, and a series of century-old Supreme Court rulings put the island outside of that provision.

Conservative leader and Founder of the Eagle Forum Phyllis Schlafly said GOP frontrunner Donald Trump is a candidate that will give conservatives “a choice not an echo” during Trump’s campaign rally in St. Louis, Missouri at the Peabody Opera House on Friday afternoon.

“I want you to meet Donald Trump,” Schlafly told the crowd full of Trump supporters. “I had the chance to meet with him a couple minutes ago and I asked him to stand by the Republican platform because we have the best conservative platform we’ve ever had. He endorsed it. He will stand by it. He is a real conservative and I ask you to support him.”

Schlafly also told the crowd that she is confident Trump will appoint conservative Supreme Court justices like Justice Scalia.

“I think he has the courage and the energy — you know you have to have energy for that job — in order to bring some changes and to do what the grassroots want him to do, because this is a grass roots uprising. We’ve been following the losers for so long.”

Donald Trump suggested that as president he would finance Social Security by requiring countries that benefit from U.S. military protection to pay for the service.

"We're the policeman of the world: We take care of Germany; we take care of Saudi Arabia; we take care of South Korea," he said during Thursday night's presidential debate. "Saudi Arabia was making a billion dollars a day and we were getting virtually nothing to protect them. ... We are going to be in a different world. We're going to negotiate real deals, now, and we're going to bring the wealth back to our country."

Trump offered that plan as a way to avoid Social Security's impending insolvency — the program runs out of money in 22 years — after initially promising to stabilize the program by eliminating "waste, fraud, and abuse." That position contrasted with Fla. Sen. Marco Rubio, who has proposed a politically-risky Social Security overhaul.More

A construction worker in Ocean City has fallen to his death this morning. This happened in the area of 27th Street bay side, new hotel under construction. The subject allegedly fell from the 5th floor. Another source says it happened around 25th Street.More to come...

It’s very likely that tomorrow’s results from the all-important Ohio and Florida Winner-Take-All Republican contests will determine whether Donald Trump wins the GOP presidential nomination, or whether the campaign descends into a contested convention.

While Mr. Trump appears to be well ahead in Florida, and is the odds-on favorite to capture that state’s 99 delegates, the Ohio race is very much in doubt.

Though Trump is approaching a mid 40s support range in the last three Sunshine State polls, and appears 20+ points ahead of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), it is important to remember that only registered Republicans can vote in tomorrow’s closed primary. Therefore, Trump’s polling numbers may be a bit inflated if the pollsters were not properly screening solely for registered Republican voters.

Should Mr. Trump win Ohio (66 delegates), he will have a statistical path toward clinching a first ballot nomination victory particularly when remembering some of his strongest northeastern states are scheduled to vote later in the cycle. If Gov. John Kasich instead finds victory in his home state, Trump will have a difficult time reaching his delegate goal especially when the other candidates, who certainly won’t reach the 1,237 delegate votes required for nomination through the primaries and caucuses alone, will be attempting to force a contested convention as their only potential victory scenario.

At the end of last week, we mentioned the Fox News poll that gave Gov. Kasich a 34-29% Buckeye State lead over Mr. Trump. Now, two later surveys confirm that Kasich indeed has a reasonable chance of overtaking the national Republican front-runner.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture released a proposed rule on Friday aimed at restricting the ability of government officials to recruit or pressure people to apply for federal food stamp benefits.

The rule is the result of the 2014 Farm Bill, which included language saying government agents have to let people decide themselves whether to apply for food stamps under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. That language was included after Republicans complained that benefits were being promoted on TV and radio, and were also being promoted in Mexico under a bilateral deal that existed during the Bush administration.

"Outreach activities designed to pressure or persuade a person to apply for benefits are not allowed," USDA said about the rule. Under the proposed language, USDA and state officials that get federal funding would be allowed to inform people about how SNAP works, and dispel misunderstandings they might have about the program.

But officials wouldn't be able to pursue people who aren't interested, and wouldn't be able to promise any side benefit for people who sign up.

The Republican delegate tangle has people talking excitedly about a contested national convention this summer. Not so fast. Even if no candidate wins the necessary 1,237 delegates by the end of primaries and caucuses on June 7, the six weeks that follow provide another opportunity to settle the matter before the party gathers in Cleveland on July 18. I’ll call this period the “pre-convention.”

Republicans can't have an undecided convention without first passing through a contested pre-convention period. With all the delegates chosen but no candidate having a secure majority, the action will shift from the week-to-week slog from one state primary to the next in search of voters to a collective decision to be made by the delegates: 2,472 party actors, most of them obscure but a handful well known, most of them loyal to the candidate they are supporting but many of them with other interests and preferences.

If no one has the nomination locked up in June, everyone involved -- candidates, delegates and other party actors -- will feel intense pressure to get this done before the convention. The purpose of national conventions today is advertising for the party and its candidate, and that opportunity would be forfeited if the convention was convened without a nominee. The worst case would be day after day of deadlock under the full gaze of the national media with controversies heating up and plenty of chances for those 2,472 delegates (and the hundreds of other Republicans who will be in attendance) to make the party and whomever they eventually settle on look bad.

So the campaigns will scramble to win the allegiance of delegates, both those who are not tethered to a particular candidate and those who are, since bound delegates might become available if the convention decides to let them vote however they want.

The 9th week of the 436th Maryland General Assembly saw an unfavorable report on a bill we fought against, two committee hearings for our bills and Jeff Merritt of Operation We Care visited Annapolis.

This week my committee (Environment and Transportation), voted on a number of bills includingHB1496, The Farmers’ Rights Act. Thankfully, my colleagues joined me in giving it an unfavorable report, which means that it will not proceed to the floor of the House. The bill did not have the backing of any of the local farmers I spoke to and no farmers from the Eastern Shore came to testify in support of the bill.

Tuesday, our Disparity Grant bill (HB1395) was heard in the House Appropriations Committee. I want to thank Prince George’s County Executive Rushern Baker for a letter of support for the bill. The hearing went well and I’m optimistic that it will receive a favorable report and move to the floor of the House.

(Jeff Merritt joined me in testifying for HB1315)

Friday, our bill that benefits nonprofit veteran organizations (HB1315) was heard in the House Ways and Means Committee. The bill would exempt them from charging sales tax on their merchandise as long as 88% of their proceeds go toward the cause. Jeff Merritt from Operation We Care came up to Annapolis. It was his first time ever testifying before a committee and he hit it out of the park! Thanks to Jeff for taking time out to advocate for the bill, we really appreciate it. I also want to thank Steve Mizell, who inspired the bill, as well as both Warrior Canine Connection and the Veterans Caucus, who both wrote letters of support.

This coming week, we have two Wicomico County Delegation bills being heard.

The first is HB1612, which would help the Ward Museum expand and will be heard by the House Appropriations Committee tomorrow. Currently, when the Ward Museum receives one of its many school tours, they find themselves challenged for educational space. This expansion would help them better serve the community, especially our young ones.

​Tuesday, the bill that would allow a referendum on how the Wicomico County Board of Education is chosen (HB1352) will be heard in the House Ways and Means Committee.

If the bill is successful, voters would choose from three options in a referendum:

Keep the selection as it is- with the Governor appointing members

Change to a hybrid with five members chosen by the voters and two appointed locally

Switch to a fully elected school board with every member being chosen by the voters

Saturday, March 19th, I will be in the Fruitland Easter Parade and I hope to see you there!

Keeping in constant communication with a perpetually open door is our way of #makingithappen. By working together we get things done both in Wicomico County and Annapolis. We will continue to advocate for the Eastern Shore, poultry farmers, and our Shore way of life. Thank you for your support. I appreciate that you have taken the time to read our newsletter. Please contact our office with any ideas, issues, or concerns that you have. We’re here to work for you.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - Governor Larry Hogan today issued the following statement in response to the violence that resulted in the death of Prince George's County police officer Jacai Colson:

"I am shocked and saddened by the news this evening of the death of Prince George's County police officer Jacai Colson in the line of duty. Our administration is committed to assisting Prince George's County officials during this time, and the Maryland State Police are working closely with local law enforcement to provide support as needed.

"The First Lady and I send our sincere prayers to the family and loved ones of Officer Colson, who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to his fellow citizens and community. It is my hope that his proud legacy of commitment and passion for law enforcement and serving others will provide some comfort in the difficult days that lie ahead."

Governor Hogan has ordered flags to fly at half-staff in honor of Officer Colson.